We want to be a church that gives God glory in all we do by giving all our lives to his mission and ministry. Part of that means being a generous people with our time, money and skills and gifts. We must acknowledge though that at times our regular weekly giving has only just been sufficient to meet our needs.

Bible Readings
1 Chronicles 29:3-14; Ps. 24; Luke 21:1-4; 2 Cor. 8:1-15

This morning we’re up to the last in our series on Christ’s Church. Over these past six weeks we’ve been looking at six charateristics that we need to continue developing in our lives as God’s people. My earnest desire and prayer, and I hope yours too, is that Christ Church will grow in Echuca and Moama. It’s not that I want to be famous, or want to be able to brag at next year’s Clergy Retreat. We want to see Christ Church grow so that God might be glorified. To remind ourselves of this, we’ve made one of the lines of our mission statement, that we seek to:
We give God glory in all we do
by giving all our lives to his mission and ministry. Continue reading “Christ’s Church…Gives” →

Jesus told his disciples that as they went out they should make disciples of all nations. How are we sharing the gospel with those around us?

Bible Readings
Isaiah 52:7-10; Ps. 51:10-17; Matt. 28:16-20; Rom. 10:1-15

On Wednesday the 10th of June, at around 8:40am, just a few hours after Isaac was born, I started sending out text messages to tell people the good news. Of course we’d phoned family and a few close friends before that. Yet somehow, some people had already heard the news! We love sharing good news like this don’t we? Passing it on to others, letting them hear what’s happened. We can’t wait to tell people about new babies, new jobs, new homes, or whatever other good news you might have to share.

Which is fortunate, because as a church we have a mission to share the gospel with the world. You might know that the word gospel is the translation of a Greek word, euangelion, which literally means ‘good news’. So, whenever you read in the New Testament gospel, you can substitute ‘good news’. Our mission is to be a church that speaks the gospel, that tells people the good news. But of course it’s not any old good news, but the good news we’re to proclaim. We’re to share the greatest news there is, that God has redeemed us through Jesus. God has rescued us through the cross. God has restored us to new life in his Son. Continue reading “Christ’s Church…Reaches Out” →

It is in sharing God’s love with one another, and with those around us, that we show that we are Christ’s disciples. This practical demonstration of God’s love is foundational characteristic of Christ Church and one of the strongest ways we proclaim the gospel to the world. How we care is one measure of the depth of fellowship that we share.

Bible Readings   Leviticus 19:1-4, 11-18; Ps. 121; Matthew 25:31-46; 1 John 4:7-21

I want to begin this morning with a quick quiz. What team or group does this person belong to? What about this one? Here’s one I failed at on Friday when I saw these colours at Southern Cross. Now, what marks those who belong to this group? How can someone from outside, looking in, know that we belong to Christ Church, and more importantly what that means?

You might think I’ve got a bit of an advantage in this. That people can often tell who I am and where I work by what I’m wearing. But even people have twice assumed I was an employee at the Reject Shop, even though I was wearing my collar at the time! What is it then, that is meant to identify us to others as belonging to Christ’s church? Continue reading “Christ’s Church…Cares” →

Prayer is the indispensible means by which we draw nearer to God. Through prayer we bring our praises, our thanksgiving and our requests to our Heavenly Father, who delights in hearing and answering our prayers. The best, and the most fundamental, thing we can do to see Christ Church grow is to pray.

Bible Readings
Neh. 1:4-11; Ps. 86:1-7; Matt. 6:5-8; Eph. 3:14-21, 6:18-20

Let us pray this morning.

Hang on a minute. Something isn’t working. Let me see. Ah. It helps if you put the batteries in! It’s a good illustration of a church that doesn’t pray. Last week we saw that Christ’s Church Loves God’s Word. In fact, we heard that if you found a church that didn’t love God’s word, it wouldn’t really be a church. It’s only through God’s Word that we discover what God is like, what he has done for us in Christ and who he intends us to be.

If God speaks to us in his Word, then prayer is the other half of the conversation. Prayer is the means by which we lift our hearts and our voices up to God. But prayer is more than just us directing our concerns and our thoughts to God. In prayer, and through our prayers, God works in us. Prayer is the means by which we access the power and the promises of God. Continue reading “Christ’s Church…Prays” →

Christ’s Church… Loves God’s Word
The foundation of who we are as a church, and the guide for all that we do, is God’s Word.

Bible Readings
Joshua 1:1-8; Psalm 19; Matt. 7:24-29; 2 Tim. 3:16-4:2

If someone asked you what the key characteristics of Christ Church were, I wonder what your answer would be? If you had to boil down what it means to be the church into a few words, what would you say? What are the essential things it means to be God’s people gathered in this place? This week, we’re getting into a series that looks to answer those questions. We’ve selected six traits of the church, of Christ’s Church in general, and of Christ Church Anglican, Echuca. It’s entirely likely that you might think of things other than celebrating, loving God’s Word, praying, caring, reaching out and giving. If so, let me know. If we can’t fit in into any of these six, the series might go a bit longer! Continue reading “Christ’s Church…Loves God’s Word” →